HLnovel Chapter 267 Many Interesting Stories of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 267 Many Interesting Stories of the Ming Dynasty
"Although his ranking wasn't very high, he was still a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), although some say it was because of his brother's help."
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: If his ranking isn't very good, then it might really be because of his older brother!
A certain romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: This shows that his talent for studying might not be as good as his older brother's! Sigh, it seems the order in which you get beaten up is very important!
A bystander commented: "But even if Chen Ju becomes an official, he should be an honest one!"
……
After Lin Ke finished speaking, she really admired Chen Hu's determination. After all, unless there was no other choice, what good parent would send their child to the palace to become a eunuch!
However, it's a bit tough on the kids!
"Ahem, let's move on to the next one. There was a scholar named Jin Shengtan during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. As mentioned before, the Qing dynasty's imperial examination system was inherited from the Ming dynasty, so it had become quite restrictive in many ways."
"This is not a good thing for scholars; on the contrary, it is a step backward! And Jin Shengtan did not take the imperial examination simply for fame and fortune."
"For example, in one of his imperial examinations, he encountered this question: 'Would you be moved by such a thing?' After thinking for a moment, he wrote in a flourish: 'Here is a beautiful woman and ten thousand taels of gold. Would you be moved, Master?'"
"Then he wrote thirty-nine more characters for 'movement' below. As for why he didn't write forty, it's because Mencius said: 'At forty, one's heart is not moved!'"
"In fact, no dynasty would have allowed such clear-headed and insightful remarks from him, so his end was not good either."
A spoiled young master from the Song Dynasty: Hahahaha, he's such a good writer!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: This person is talented! Hahaha! If the imperial examination system were rigid, wouldn't it be incredibly boring?!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: ...
A farming whiz from the Sui Dynasty: This is hilarious! He wrote thirty-nine "movement" characters! Who can write as many as him?!?
……
The live broadcast continues.
"Finally, let's talk about a book from the Ming Dynasty that comprehensively covers all sorts of scams," after all, scammers use a wide variety of methods, and even if you're vigilant, it's impossible to guard against them all. This book about scammers' tricks is called "The Book of Scams."
"Its author is Zhang Yingyu, who wrote this book in the late Ming Dynasty based on careful observation. This book records twenty-four types of deception, totaling eighty-four examples. Let me give you an example:"
"Among them was a man named Jiang Xian, who went to the city to work and painstakingly saved up more than ten taels of silver."
"One day, on his way home, he found a small package containing a few taels of silver. Just then, a stranger appeared beside him, pointed to the package, and said, 'Whoever finds it gets a share. You keep it for now, and we'll find a quiet place to divide the money, shall we?'"
"Jiang Xian felt he wouldn't lose out in this, since the money was with him anyway, and he could just run away at worst! So he went along with them."
"We just didn't expect that not long after they left, someone came running up to them crying and asking if they had seen a small package, because he had lost his money!"
Before Jiang Xian could speak, another stranger said to him: "This money was found by this brother. He was originally going to split it with you, but since you're pitiful, he'll return it to you, but he'll have to charge you a little trouble fee."
"Since things had come to this point, Jiang Xian had no choice but to return the money to him. He then opened his own box and returned the money he had found to him. The man who received the money was extremely grateful and gave him two taels of silver as a token of his thanks."
"By now, does nobody think this person is a fraud?!"
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: ? ? ?
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: What the heck?!
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: Did he lose all the money he saved? That's a huge loss!
A peasant boy from the Song Dynasty: ...This trick seems familiar!
……
Lin Ke didn't try to be mysterious and explained, "After Jiang Xian returned, he opened his chest and found that all his silver coins had turned into copper and iron."
"Only then did he realize that the two men were in cahoots, their ultimate goal being to steal his money while he wasn't looking."
"And this story, you might say, is this scam very clever! But compared to others, it doesn't seem to be. It's just that often, scammers are just impossible to guard against."
"However, sometimes the most terrifying thing is not the pursuit of money, but the murder. Everyone knows that good things don't fall from the sky for no reason, but many people still fall for it."
"For example, there was a man named Fang Ba in the capital during the Ming Dynasty. He was somewhat slow-witted and his widowed mother was all he had at home."
"His family was very poor, and the money he earned was only enough to support his mother and son, so even when he was over twenty, no woman dared to marry him."
"One evening, he met a woman who claimed that it was too late to go back to her parents' home and asked to stay the night. Fang Ba did not agree at first, but after the woman's repeated requests, he finally agreed."
After dinner, the woman chatted with Fang's mother and asked, "Why hasn't Fang Ba gotten married?"
"In short, the idea is that she is a widow, and if Fang Ba doesn't mind, she is willing to be Fang Ba's wife. Fang Ba's mother also thinks that her son should find a wife, but she replied: Fang Ba probably can't support a family of three."
The woman smiled and said that she had some money and could earn a little money by embroidery.
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: This woman is ruthless, but isn't Fang Ba poor?
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: This guy is so unlucky! He was already poor, and it looks like he's going to die too!
A romantic and talented scholar from the Tang Dynasty: Despicable swindler!
……
"Then the two got married. The next morning, the woman gave Fang Ba a few taels of silver and asked him to go to the largest cloth shop in the city to buy two bolts of cloth to make clothes for his mother-in-law."
"After Fang Ba bought them, the woman took advantage of his inattention and cut three feet off the two bolts of cloth. Then she said to Fang Ba: 'You've been cheated. There are marks on the cloth that have been cut. It must be leftover cloth. Go and exchange it for another bolt!'"
"So Fang Ba believed it and angrily went to argue with the cloth shop clerk, since the whole thing was caused by that woman getting involved."
"So both sides had their own reasons, and in the end, the boss was afraid that things would escalate and affect his business, so he gave him two more bolts of cloth."
"After Fang Ba took them back, the woman used the same trick again, poking several holes in them with scissors and pointing them out to Fang Ba: 'This shopkeeper is so heartless, giving us these two pieces of rags.'"
"Then he added a few more words, which made Fang Ba's temper rise rapidly. So Fang Ba went to the cloth shop to make a scene. When the shopkeeper saw him making a scene again, he thought he was trying to extort money, so he asked his clerk to kick him out."
"But Fang Ba was indeed a bit simple-minded. He only remembered what his wife said about making a big fuss, so he jumped around and attracted a lot of people to watch. He said all sorts of nasty things, which angered the cloth shop owner, who then ordered his employees to beat him up."
A bystander from the Song Dynasty commented: "That shop is actually quite unlucky! It was targeted for no reason!"
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: If we're talking about bad luck, this is no match for Fang Ba!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: This female swindler is utterly heartless!!!
……